Arsenal
Arsenal Set the Tone Early as Their Winning Standard Holds Firm
Arsenal began the season with purpose, pace and evidence that their standards remain high.
Declan Rice made the demand after Arsenal’s Premier League parade in May: “Next year we’re coming back for more,” he said. “You heard it here first now. Lock in or get locked out.”
That kind of language can sound like ambition. It can also create a test. After ending a 22-year wait for top-flight silverware, Arsenal could easily have drifted into celebration and self-satisfaction once the new campaign began. Instead, their first outing suggested the opposite.
By the time Riccardo Calafiori had scored after just 24 seconds, the fastest goal in this fixture since 1968, Arsenal already looked fully committed to the task. The air still carried the smell of the prematch pyrotechnics, but the performance itself was far more precise than theatrical. The London side appeared switched on from the start.
The crowd mirrored that certainty. A heavy Arsenal presence filled the stands, with red shirts overwhelming the lighter blue around the Principality Stadium. Calafiori called it “like playing at the Emirates,” and the noise supported that view as City’s songs were swallowed by the home-leaning majority.
Mikel Arteta had warned before kickoff, “You can tell how hungry the players are,” and the evidence followed quickly. Arsenal’s passing remained crisp against City’s fragmented press, and the early breakthrough did not lead to caution. It drove them forward.
Christos Tzolis, making his official debut, made an immediate impression. His header across goal allowed Kai Havertz to make it 2-0, before the summer arrival from Club Brugge turned creator again and slipped the ball across for Martin Ødegaard’s third. The Arsenal captain’s goal produced a strong reaction from the crowd, with the replay greeted by loud derision each time it appeared on the screen.
There were still reasons for restraint in judgement. One match tells only part of the story, and the Community Shield has always occupied a strange place in the game’s hierarchy. But for Arsenal, the significance lay less in the trophy itself and more in the attitude it revealed.
David Raya made several important saves, and City finished with more shots and more touches in Arsenal’s box. Ben White handled Jérémy Doku early on, though the winger soon found room down the left. Even so, the overall impression was clear: Arsenal did not approach the new season as a team satisfied with last year’s success.
Arsenal
Five Premier League talking points as Gameweek 6 begins
Arsenal, Chelsea, United, Spurs, City and Liverpool face a pivotal Premier League weekend.
After an international break that was longer than most, the Premier League resumes with a slate of fixtures that should quickly restore the league to centre stage. Gameweek 6 brings heavyweight meetings, difficult home tests and plenty of pressure on sides already searching for rhythm.
Arsenal’s defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion before the break ended a remarkable run and raised the question of how they would react. Five months had passed since their previous league loss, but the 3-0 reverse on the south coast was a severe setback. Leeds United now arrive at the Emirates Stadium unbeaten and sitting fifth, only three points behind the Gunners, while history still strongly favours Arsenal, who have won their last eight meetings with Leeds in all competitions.
Chelsea also need a response after being beaten 3-0 by Brentford. That result was their third consecutive league match without a win and the third time they have conceded three goals in a game this season. Bournemouth’s visit offers little comfort, especially with Chelsea waiting on late checks for João Pedro, Cole Palmer, Moisés Caicedo and Reece James. Marco Rose’s side may be winless, but they have taken points from Chelsea in four of the last six meetings.
Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur meet under clear pressure. United have managed only five points from a manageable run, with defeats to Hull City and 10-man Manchester City damaging the mood. Tottenham, meanwhile, sit bottom after two goalless draws and three defeats, and Roberto De Zerbi’s side arrive with their costly new arrivals yet to settle. The stakes are obvious for both clubs.
The weekend’s headline fixture comes at Liverpool, where Manchester City play for the first time since being found guilty of 114 breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules. After a three-year investigation, the verdict has inevitably shifted attention onto Enzo Maresca and his players, even if they had no part in the issue. City have won all five league games under Maresca, but this is a different test entirely.
Liverpool have every reason to make the occasion felt. They have twice been runners-up to City title teams since 2009 and remain one of the most persistent challengers of the last decade. With the atmosphere set to be intense, this could become one of the defining matches of the round.
Arsenal
Arsenal face selection reshuffle as injuries shape Leeds United return
Arsenal expect several changes for Leeds United, with Arteta managing injuries across defence and attack.
Mikel Arteta has had the international break to reflect on Arsenal’s heavy defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion, but the pause has not simplified his plans for the Premier League return. Leeds United visit Emirates Stadium on Saturday, and the champions are expected to make several changes because of fitness concerns across the squad.
The most significant absentee remains William Saliba, who is out for the long term with a back problem. Arsenal also lost Ben White to a groin issue during the win at Sunderland, though the right back is now expected to return after being seen in training images last week. Declan Rice, meanwhile, has been managed carefully after a demanding summer and recurring hamstring discomfort, and he should also be available for Leeds.
There is better news in defence through Cristhian Mosquera, who has recovered from the hamstring injury he suffered in August and could come back into the side. If Ezri Konsa is not ready after his dead leg, Mosquera may be the natural option to line up alongside Gabriel. Jurriën Timber is another factor at right back, although his minutes are being monitored after summer groin surgery.
Arsenal’s attack has taken the sharper hit. Kai Havertz and Christos Tzolis both picked up hamstring injuries while away with Germany and Greece, and both are expected to miss the next couple of weeks. That leaves Arteta with limited routes through the middle and on the left, where Eberechi Eze has not yet made a major impact. Noni Madueke could also be used there, while Viktor Gyökeres is the likeliest candidate to replace Havertz up front after scoring four in four for Sweden during the break.
Max Dowman is available despite a contact injury and a red card for England’s U-19s, while Bukayo Saka came through the break unscathed. With Rice and White expected back, Arteta can at least restore some structure, but the forward line remains the main concern heading into a difficult fixture.
Arsenal
Arteta’s new Arsenal deal puts him at the top of Premier League manager pay
Arteta’s Arsenal contract until 2030 is reportedly the Premier League’s biggest managerial pay rise.
Arsenal have handed Mikel Arteta a fresh contract through 2030, and reports suggest the new agreement has taken his salary to twice its previous level. That rise is believed to make him the best-paid manager in the Premier League.
Arteta explained what the club means to him after committing his future.
“This club is unique, its character and the way it makes you feel, and I have a great sense of privilege that our journey together will continue. We have already built a special bond and created memories that will last a lifetime, and what is so exciting is that this is only the beginning of what we can achieve together.”
According to The Times, he is now thought to earn more than £20 million ($26.4 million) each season across a deal that runs for the next four years. With Pep Guardiola no longer the Premier League’s highest earner, Arteta is understood to occupy a category of his own in the domestic game.
His earnings are also said to place him above some of the biggest names in world football. Only Atlético Madrid’s Diego Simeone and Paris Saint-Germain’s back-to-back Champions League winner Luis Enrique are mentioned as approaching those levels.
The second-highest paid manager in the Premier League is reported to be on the opposite side of north London. Tottenham Hotspur’s Roberto De Zerbi is said to earn £12 million ($15.9 million) per year, according to ESPN.
De Zerbi arrived at a difficult moment for Spurs last spring, with the club in serious trouble and fighting to avoid relegation. Since then, his influence has extended beyond the dugout, with the transfer window suggesting he has a major say in spending decisions as well as his own financial package.
For Arsenal, though, the message is clear. Arteta has been rewarded not only with security until 2030, but with a salary that now stands above every other manager in the Premier League.
